Carlos Alcaraz believes Rafael Nadal is back to 100% with good recovery and expects the ‘best level’ from the King of Clay

Carlos Alcaraz is of the opinion that Rafael Nadal will soon be back to his best level once he makes his comeback to the court.

Carlos Alcaraz believes Rafael Nadal is back to 100% with good recovery and expects the ‘best level’ from the King of Clay

Rafael Nadal (L), Carlos Alcaraz (R) (Sources: Wikipedia, AiCan)

Carlos Alcaraz recently talked about the comeback of Rafael Nadal, and the youngster seems to be optimistic about it. According to the Spaniard, Nadal might return to his best level on the 2024 Tour and thus turn a few heads with his performance. 

The 22-time Grand Slam winner will be returning to the court after missing almost the entirety of the 2023 season owing to a hip flexor injury. 

Alcaraz, being a Spaniard like Rafa, has idolized him from a very young age. Thus, words of optimism coming from him for his idol’s comeback are not very shocking.

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However, he might have a point, as Rafa’s training videos have clearly shown that he is putting full intensity into the sessions. It is not unknown that if he has thought about making a comeback, he is fully serious about it and will give it his all. 

I think he's ready. I saw videos of him in training, he looks 100%. Other players told me that they had trained with Rafa in recent weeks and that he would return to the tour at a good level. His best level. I think he is ready to do great things in 2024,
Alcaraz said

However, Rafael Nadal himself asked his fans a few months ago to not keep their expectations very high for his return in 2024. He is currently 37 years old and has been away from the court for over a year. Moreover, he is not physically at the level where he used to be a few years ago. 

Novak Djokovic expects Rafael Nadal to hunt for more trophies 

Talking about Rafael Nadal’s comeback, Novak Djokovic recently said that the Spaniard will be on the lookout for trophies. He said that indeed, he expects his arch-nemesis to play at his best and added that Rafa is not the kind of player to play the tour just for the sake of it, and he will compete for the titles.

Novak Djokovic (L), Rafael Nadal (R)
Novak Djokovic (L), Rafael Nadal (R) (Sources: Sky Sports, Hindustan Times)
He's not a kind of a player that will come back to the Tour just to play. He wants to win titles, he wants to be the best, that's why he is who he is - a legend of our sport. I'm sure that his training and preparation is done with an intention to win a Grand Slam.
Novak Djokovic said via H/T: Express.co.uk

The two of them have played a total of 59 matches against each other. Djokovic won 30 of those matches, while Nadal won 29. This shows the intensity and closeness of the rivalry between these two great players. 

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